Behind the Scenes

Behind the Scenes in Ottawa

A view of the Canadian Parliment from the hotel room

As Mike Leggo covered in his blog, travel for an NHL official can be quite hectic at times. Once we get to the assigned city, it is important for each official to relax and prepare for his game.

Mark Pare relaxing with a paper and a coffee

Each official goes about preparing for the game at his own pace, with his own habits and routines. There is no rule about how to prepare, it's really whatever works best for you. Some guys like to awaken early, have breakfast and go for a good walk. Others will sleep in late, have a coffee and read the paper.

Tom Kowal gets an early morning workout in

Some prefer to have a real hard workout the morning of the game while others will go for a little sweat followed up by a good stretch. Again, it's whatever helps you get in the best possible state of mind for the game that's important.

Security has to check all bags, even Mark Pare's!

A recent trip to beautiful [and frigid] Ottawa shows some examples of game preparation with Mark Pare and Tom Kowal throughout the day.

Ian Walsh

NHL Referee - Behind the Scenes